Caravans burn at camping site
FOUR caravans were destroyed in a fire at the Salamis camping site in the early hours of Wednesday morning – just a day after a fight broke out there between police and campers.
One of the caravans that burnt down in the blaze, the cause of which remained a mystery, belonged to Yeniboğaziçi Mayor Mustafa Zurnacılar, who had last week denied other camper van owners access so that council contractors could demolish “illegal” permanent structures built there.
Yeniboğaziçi Municipality said that the area was being used for “illegal business” and that the structures
“lacked the necessary health conditions and wastewater plumbing”.
Speaking to Cyprus Today’s sister newspaper Kıbrıs, Mr Zurnacılar said
that the council had acted within its authority by imposing a ban on entry to the campsite.
Indicating that the ban was made with the assistance of police, Mr Zurnacılar stated that the fight that broke out was caused by campers .
“The campers attacked the police . . . the police did what they had to do,” he said.
A Yeniboğaziçi Municipality statement said: “The camping area has turned into a shanty town over time, which carries risks for both the environment and human health.
“The ban . . . was made under the Constitution as a consequence of failed communications with [camping association] Kamp-Der.”
Kamp-Der head Mustafa Baturalp said: “We were woken up by 40 municipality workers, in addition to police forces who invaded the camping site.
“The ban is against the law and the police attacked the campers. [We] will use our legal rights to sue Mr Zurnacılar and the violent police officers.”
He added: “Mr Zurnacılar first cut the water supply during this pandemic and left people without water during the heat of July and August.
“As the [court cases] regarding this are still ongoing, he now came with police and [closed off] the entrance. He caused a fight and struggle with the police . . . We will be referring these incidents to court.”